2 Samuel 11

It came about in the spring, at the time kings go out, David sent Joab and his servants with him and all of Israel. They ravaged all of the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David was remaining in Jerusalem. It happened late one afternoonthat David got up from his bed and walked about on the roof of the king’s house, and he saw a woman bathing on her roof. Now the woman was very beautiful. David sent and inquired about the woman, and someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) And she returned to her house. The woman became pregnant, and she sent and told David, and she said, "I am pregnant." So David sent to Joab, "Send Uriah the Hittite to me." So Joab sent Uriah to David. Uriah came to him, and David asked how Joab and the army fared and how the war was going. David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house, and wash your feet." So Uriah went out from the king’s house, and a gift from the king went out after him. But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his master and did not go down to his house. They told David, "Uriah did not go down to his house." David said to Uriah, "Are you not coming from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?" Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are living in the booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping on the surface of the open field; and I, shall I go to my house to eat and to drink and to sleep with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I surely will not do this thing." David said to Uriah, "Remain here today, and tomorrow I will send you away." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem on that day and the next. David invited him, and he ate and drank in his presence so that he became drunk, and he went out in the evening to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house. And it happened in the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab, and he sent it by the hand of Uriah. He had written in the letter, "Put Uriah in the front, in the face of the fiercest fighting, then draw back from behind him so that he may be struck down and die."

When Joab was besieging the city, he put Uriah toward the place which he knew there were valiant warriors. The men of the city came out and fought with Joab. Some from the army from the servants of David fell; Uriah the Hittite also died. Joab sent and told David all of the news of the battle. He instructed the messenger, saying, "As you are finishing to speak all the news of the battle to the king, if the anger of the king rises and he says to you, ‘Why did you go near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from atop the wall? Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerub-bosheth, if not a woman who threw an upper millstone on him from atop the wall and he died at Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?’ Then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.’" Then the messenger left, and he came and told David all that Joab had sent him to say. The messenger said to David, "Because the men overpowered us, the men came out to us in the field, but we forced them back to the entrance of the gate. The archers shot at your servant from atop the wall, and some of the servants of the king died; your servant Uriah the Hittite also died." Then David said to the messenger, "Thus you shall say to Joab, ‘Do not feel badly about this matter; now one and then another the sword will devour. Intensify your attack on the city and overthrow it.’" And he encouraged him. When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned over her husband. When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his household, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing which David had done was evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

2 Samuel 12

So Yahweh sent Nathan to David, and he came to him and said, "Two men were in a certain city; one was rich and the other was poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing except for one small ewe lamb which he had bought. He had nurtured her, and she grew up with him and with his children together. She used to eat from his morsel and drink from his cup, and she used to lie in his lap and became like a daughter for him. And a visitor came to the rich man, but he was reluctant to take from his flocks or from his herds to prepare a meal for the traveler when he came to him. So he took the ewe lamb of the poor man and prepared it for the man who had come to him." Then the anger of David was kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this deserves to die! He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because he has done this thing, and because he had no pity." Then Nathan said to him, "You are the man! Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you the household of your master and the women of your master into your lap. I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah; if that had been too little, I would have added to you much more. Why have you despised the word of Yahweh by doing evil in his eyes? Uriah the Hittite you have struck down with the sword, and his wife you have taken to yourself as wife! You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites! So then, a sword will not turn away from your house forever, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife!’ Thus says Yahweh, ‘Look, I am going to raise up evil against you from within your house, and I will take your women before your eyes, and I will give them to your neighbor, and he shall sleep with your wives in broad daylight. Though you did this in secret, I will do this thing before all of Israel in broad daylight!’"

Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against Yahweh!" Nathan said to David, "Yahweh has also forgiven your sin; you shall not die. But because you have utterly scorned Yahweh in this matter, the son born for you will certainly die." Then Nathan went to his house, and Yahweh struck the child that the wife of Uriah bore for David, and he became ill. David pleaded with God on behalf of the boy and David fasted. He went to spend the night and lay upon the ground. The elders of his household stood over him to lift him up from the ground, but he was not willing, and he did not eat any food with them. It happened on the seventh day that the child died, and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, "Look, when the child was alive, we spoke to him, but he would not listen to our voice. How can we tell him, ‘The child is dead’? He may do something evil." When David saw that his servants were whispering together, he realized that the child was dead. Then David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" And they said, "He is dead." David stood up from the ground and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothing. Then he went to the house of Yahweh and worshiped, and he went to his own house. He asked, so they served him food, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, "What is this thing that you have done? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept; now that the child has died, you get up and eat food!" He said, "When the child was still alive, I fasted and I wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? Yahweh may have mercy on me that the child will live.’ But now he is dead. Why should I be fasting? Am I able to return him again? I am going to him, but he cannot return to me." David consoled Bathsheba his wife, and he went to her and slept with her. She bore a son, and he called him Solomon, and Yahweh loved him. He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet, so he called him Jedidiah because of Yahweh.

And Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and he captured the royal city. Then Joab sent messengers to David and said, "We have fought against Rabbah, and we captured the city of the waters. So then, gather the remainder of the army and encamp against the city and capture it, lest I capture the city and my name be proclaimed over it." So David gathered all of the army, and he went to Rabbah and fought against it and captured it. He took the crown of their king from his head. (Now its weight was a talent of gold, and there was a precious stone in it and it was put on David’s head.) He brought out the plunder of the city in great abundance. He also brought out the people who were in it and put them to the saws and to the iron picks and to the iron axes, and he sent them to the place of the brickmakers. Thus he used to do to all the cities of the Ammonites, and he and all of the army returned to Jerusalem.

1 Chronicles 20

And it happened thatin the spring time of year, the time when kings go out to battle, Joab led the troops of the army and destroyed the land of the Ammonites. And he came and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem. And Joab struck Rabbah and destroyed it. And David took the crown of their king from his head and found it to weigh a talent of gold. And in it was a precious stone. Then it was placed upon the head of David. And he brought out the booty of the city, a large amount. And the people who were in it he brought out, and he set them to work with saws and iron implements and axes. Thus David did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David returned, and all the nation went with him.

And after this there arose a war in Gezer with the Philistines. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Sippai, one of the descendants of the Rephaim. And they were subdued. And again there was war with the Philistines. And Elhanan son of Jair struck down Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. And again there was war in Gath. And there was a very tall man there, and he had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all. He himself was also a descendant of the Rephaim. And he taunted Israel, but Jehonathan son of Shimea, brother of David, struck him down. These were born to the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Psalm 51

For the music director. A psalm of David.

When Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

Be gracious to me, O God, according to your loyal love.According to your abundant mercies,blot out my transgressions.Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,and from my sin cleanse me.For I myself know my transgressions,and my sin is ever before me.Against you, only you, I have sinnedand have done this evil in your eyes,so that you are correct when you speak,you are blameless when you judge.Behold, in iniquity I was born,and in sin my mother conceived me.Behold, you delight in truth in the inward parts,and in the hidden parts you make me to know wisdom.Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.Make me hear joy and gladness;let the bones you have crushed rejoice.Hide your face from my sins,and all my iniquities blot out.Create a clean heart for me, O God,and renew a steadfast spirit within me.Do not cast me away from your presence,and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.Restore to me the joy of your salvation,and with a willing spirit sustain me.Then I will teach transgressors your ways,and sinners will turn back to you.Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,the God of my salvation;then my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.O Lord, open my lips,and my mouth will proclaim your praise.For you do not delight in sacrifice or I would give it.With a burnt offering you are not pleased.The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;A broken and contrite heart,O God, you will not despise.Do good in your favor toward Zion.Build the walls of Jerusalem.Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices,burnt offering and whole burnt offering.Then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Psalm 32

Of David. A maskil.

Happy is he whose transgression is taken away,whose sin is covered.Happy is a person to whom Yahweh does not impute iniquityand in whose spirit there is not deceit.When I kept silent, my bones were worn outdue to my groaning all the day.For day and night your hand was heavy upon me.My vigor was changed into the dry heat of summer. SelahI made known my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not cover.I said, "I will confess concerning my transgressions to Yahweh,"and you took away the guilt of my sin. SelahTherefore let all the faithful pray to youat the time for finding you.Surely at the flood of many waters they will not reach him.You are my hiding place;from trouble you preserve me.With cries of deliverance you surround me. SelahI will instruct you and teach youin the way that you should go.I will advise youwith my eye upon you.Do not be like a horse or like a mule, without understanding;that needs his tackle—bridle and rein—for restraintor he would not come near you.Many are the pains of the wicked,but for the one who trusts Yahwehloyal love surrounds him.Be glad in Yahweh and rejoice, you righteous,and shout for joy, all you upright of heart.

Acts 27

And when it was decided that we would sail away to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion named Julius of the Augustan Cohort. And we went aboard a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to the places along the coast of Asia and put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. And on the next day, we put in at Sidon. And Julius, treating Paul kindly, allowed him to go to his friends to be cared for. And from there we put out to sea and sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. And after we had sailed across the open sea along Cilicia and Pamphylia, we put in at Myra in Lycia. And there the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board it. And sailing slowly, in many days and with difficulty we came to Cnidus. Because the wind did not permit us to go further, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. And sailing along its coast with difficulty, we came to a certain place called Fair Havens, near which was the town of Lasea.

And because considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul strongly recommended, saying to them, "Men, I perceive that the voyage is going to end with disaster and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives!" But the centurion was convinced even more by the shipmaster and the shipowner than by what was said by Paul. And because the harbor was unsuitable for spending the winter in, the majority decided on a plan to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could arrive at Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing toward the southwest and toward the northwest, to spend the winter there.

And when a southwest wind began to blow gently, because they thought they could accomplish their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed close along Crete. But not long afterward a wind like a hurricane, called the northeaster, rushed down from it. And when the ship was caught and was not able to head into the wind, we gave way and were driven along. And running under the lee of a certain small island called Cauda, we were able with difficulty to get the ship’s boat under control. After hoisting it up, they made use of supports to undergird the ship. And because they were afraid lest they run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and thus were driven along. And because we were violently battered by the storm, on the next daythey began jettisoning the cargo, and on the third day they threw overboard the gear of the ship with their own hands. But when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and with not a little bad weather confronting us, finally all hope was abandoned that we would be saved.

And because many were experiencing lack of appetite, at that time Paul stood up in their midst and said, "Men, you ought to have followed my advice not to put out to sea from Crete, and thus avoided this damage and loss! And now I urge you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life from among you, but only of the ship. For this night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve came to me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul! It is necessary for you to stand before Caesar, and behold, God has graciously granted you all who are sailing with you.’ Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will be like this—according to the way it was told to me. But it is necessary that we run aground on some island."

And when the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven in the Adriatic Sea about the middle of the night, the sailors suspected they were approaching some land. And taking soundings, they found twenty fathoms. So going on a little further and taking soundings again, they found fifteen fathoms. And because they were afraid lest somewhere we run aground against rough places, they threw down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. And when the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship and were lowering the ship’s boat into the sea, pretending as if they were going to lay out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men remain with the ship, you cannot be saved!" Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.

And until the day was about to come, Paul was urging them all to take some food, saying, "Today is the fourteenth day you have waited anxiously, and you have continued without eating, having taken nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is necessary for your preservation. For not a hair from your head will be lost." And after he said these things and took bread, he gave thanks to God in front of them all, and after breaking it, he began to eat. So they all were encouraged and partook of food themselves. (Now we were in all two hundred seventy six persons on the ship.) And when they had eaten their fill of food, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.

Now when day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a certain bay having a beach, onto which they decided to run the ship ashore if they could. And slipping the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes of the steering oars. And hoisting the foresail to the wind that was blowing, they held course for the beach. But falling into a place of crosscurrents, they ran the ship aground. And the bow stuck fast and stayed immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the violence. Now the plan of the soldiers was that they would kill the prisoners lest any escape by swimming away, but the centurion, because he wanted to save Paul, prevented them from doing what they intended, and gave orders that those who were able to swim should jump in first to get to the land, and then the rest, some of whom floated on planks and some of whom on anything that was from the ship. And in this way all were brought safely to the land.